Celebrate the holidays SWFL style

Reporter: Amanda Hall
Published: Updated:

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Lighted boat parades, historic homes with sea life ornaments, and Santas on top of restaurants, filled with people wearing shorts. It’s all part of the tropical holiday spirit in Southwest Florida.

The Saab family, from Ottawa, Canada, decided to visit Fort Myers, after reading online about Holiday Nights, at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.

“We wanted to see Santa on the beach, and do all the fun things. The lights on palm trees,” said Davia Saab.

This is the 40th year the estates are opened at night for holiday tours.

“For the home folks, it’s a tradition, they come every year. But for the visitors, they come here to find out something new, something different about Florida, and we certainly have it here,” Chris Pendleton, director at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.

Captiva Holiday Village, an annual celebration on Captiva Island, is preparing for its Christmas golf cart parade. Holiday activities, including a Holiday Stroll at South Seas Resort, are scheduled every weekend, until New Year’s.

From the attractions, to the resorts, and marinas, there’s no lack of creativity, when it comes to celebrating the holidays in the tropics.

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